A cohort of 10 South African manufacturing jewellers took their unique designs and expertise to New York this week.
The JA New York Exhibition was hosted at the Jacob K Javits Convention Center in New York City, in conjunction with the Jewellery Council of South Africa, from October 26-28.
The South African pavilion – and its presentation of gold, silver, and mixed-media pieces – was a highlight of the international exhibition.
Participants included Beadz by Flex; Beaudell Designs; Ekurhuleni Jewellery Project; Free Range Jewels; Kelli Lutrin Personalised Jewellery; Lilja Hastie Jewellery; Limpopo Jewellery Business Incubator; Meraki Jewellery Design; Since Now Jewels; and Sivana Africa.
“We’re very excited and pleased to have such tremendous participation by this group of distinguished South African jewellers,” Mzikayise Botha, political consul of the South African consulate general in New York, told TimesLIVE. “It’s a particularly important time, when buyers are active and as a consulate, we have to continue creating markets and business opportunities for South Africans in the US market.”
Lorna Lloyd, CEO of The Jewellery Council of South Africa, said the participants showcased exquisite designs during an extremely challenging time for the industry. “The barriers that we’re experiencing are the tariffs,” she explained. “Imposed on South Africa (by the US government) at the moment is a 30% tariff, plus 5.5% for gold and 5.5% for silver jewellery. So it’s actually 35.5%.
“These prices have to be worked into the prices that they use to sell here, and so we have to determine whether it is feasible for us to be here, because that cost gets carried over to the US consumer. In the past, the benefit of being here was the Agoa (African Growth and Opportunity Act) agreement, which allowed us to export into the US free from tariffs, import duties and taxes.”
She added: “To get the 10 companies here in New York, we must plan in detail – for at least six months ahead of time. To receive funding from the department of trade, industry and competition, each company is required to produce 16 documents.”
Despite the logistical challenges, the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
“The opening day of the exhibition was excellent,” said Johannesburg-based Kelli Lutrin of Kelli Lutrin Personalised Jewellery. “I’ve made several great contacts, set up follow-up meetings and made some sales.
“It was my first time here, so I was testing the waters from all sides,” said Marelé Lamprecht of Cape Town-based Free Range Jewels. “My business is in Greenpoint, and we have a production facility where we develop product for other jewellers. We help them develop and create the prototypes, then fine-tune the designs until they are ready for the range to go into production.”
Sivana Africa has aimed to bring the next generation of jewellery talents to the forefront, in a more community-focused model. “We have 23 interns and we train students in skills development for two years so they’re market-ready,” explained owner Sivan Finhasi. “Many have won accolades in the past, including the De Beers Shining Light Awards, creating one-of-a-kind jewellery pieces made with South African gold and rough diamonds.”
Samuel Manyisa, CEO of the Ekurhuleni Jewellery Project, has also been training students.
“Our institution is running different programmes, and we’re starting from Mining Qualification Authority Level 4 training with 10 students funded by the Rand Refinery,” he said. “Being here in New York allows us to explore and showcase the best of South Africa, building relationships and finding out who we are best able to partner.”
This article was first published in TimesLive Lifestyle.
